Inalienable Noun
Definition:
An inalienable noun is a noun that
- refers to something viewed as permanently and necessarily possessed, and
- is thus obligatorily expressed as possessed.
It may require a distinguishing possessive form.
Examples:
(Awa, Papua New Guinea)
In Awa, the body part and kinship terms are expressed as inalienable nouns.
Source:
This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library. Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003.